Of all the teams coming into the LEC 2023 Summer Split, KOI underwent the most controversial change compared to their last split. Replacing their support with Henk “Advienne” Reijenga raised some questions from fans, but the roster has proven in their first regular split that they can advance to playoffs. The question now is how they’ll perform there.
We spoke with KOI’s new support about his time with the team, his interesting journey leaving and returning the LEC, as well as what went wrong in the G2 game, how playoffs will go and more.
Aykut Sapaz, BLIX.GG: Hello, Advienne. Thank you so much for being here with me today. Before I want to get into the match you just came out of against G2, I want to talk about the season. The regular split is almost ending. How has being on KOI been for you?
Henk “Advienne” Reijenga: I mean, for me, it’s been a really good experience. I like my teammates, I think we have a good work ethic, and I feel like our practice has been going pretty well. Obviously, there were some games on stage that we didn’t win that we probably should have won. Um, pretty sad ones that would have made today’s loss hurt a lot less, but it is what it is. We’re a relatively new team, and there are always things that go wrong on stage that you don’t really see in scrims. But other than that, it’s been really nice, and yeah, loving it.
BLIX: It’s been kind of interesting to see you on XL, then out of LEC, then on Fnatic, and now here. How has your journey been, in your opinion?
Advienne: I mean, it’s been quite a journey. In pretty much every split, I change teams, I change environments which is both really fun because it’s like an adventure, really. But it’s also stressful because you never know where you’re going to end up, you don’t know how long your career will last, that kind of stuff. So, yeah, it’s been both. But so far, I’m happy where I ended up.
BLIX: Now, the season went so-so for you guys, and this game, if you guys had won this, it would have locked you in. What do you think went wrong during the match?
Advienne: I think we did some stupid things in drafts. I think we probably shouldn’t have picked Janna in this lane. For bottom, we could have picked something that was better at securing early game, so our lanes are a bit more playable. In general, we didn’t really have winning lanes. We just picked too much scaling, and that bit us. After that, the game was just easy to play for G2, and we didn’t really get much done.
KOI on stage right before the draft (Image Credits: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games)BLIX: Yeah, that was too much scaling. And now you have a match against Astralis tomorrow in which you will both be playing for locking so it’s a very tense, very exciting game for both teams. Are you prepared for the tension, the excitement? How do you feel about the match?”
Advienne: Yeah, I think we’re prepared. Our practice has been going well. Obviously, Astralis is a team that shows up well when it matters. But we can do the same thing. I don’t think we had bad games. I think today wasn’t necessarily a really bad game. We didn’t do [sic] a lot of stupid mistakes. And in general, I don’t think we had bad games. Sure, we had some unlucky ones but I think if we just play our game, we’ll do fine against Astralis, and then we’ll lock ourselves in.
All teams are beatable
BLIX: And after the match tomorrow, if you guys win, you’ll make it to best-of-threes and then maybe best-of-fives. Do you feel you would be better in best-of-threes and best-of-fives rather than best-of-ones?
Advienne: I think we’re just a much better team than what we’ve shown right now in the best-of-ones, and so the moment we get to the best-of-threes, best-of-fives, we will be able to show that much more, and so automatically we will be a better team.
BLIX: I hope you will be, but a lot of teams that are going there with you will be too. Who do you think would be the scariest opponent to face if you make it to the groups?
Advienne: I mean, it’s probably G2. I think Fnatic has been doing good, but I think both Fnatic and G2 probably are the scarier teams. Other than that, I think all teams are very beatable, Fnatic and G2 also. It’s just less easy. So I would say those two.
The atmosphere in the LEC studio as KOI take on G2 (Image Credits: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games)BLIX: It’s always winnable, but it’s hard.
Advienne: Yeah, they just make it a bit harder. Yeah.
BLIX: Do you think you’ll make it to the summer finals at the end of the split? Do you think you’ll make it into the big finals?
Advienne: I hope so. I mean, I think the chances are pretty good, just in general, even if it’s just by points. But I don’t want to get there just by points, you know? I want to make it because we play well. And I’m not even thinking about that right now. We just have to win tomorrow, and then from there, we can start dreaming. Right now, we have a very easy task tomorrow, just win, and after that, everything will follow. So, I’m not really thinking about that right now.
BLIX: When you say it like that, it sounds easy; just win.
Advienne: Yeah, it’s not complicated. It’s not easy, but it’s not complicated.
The stage, fans and the team
BLIX: And how’s the atmosphere, in your opinion? How is it being back on the stage with all the fans, like, for this split and the one before? How does it feel?
Advienne: The atmosphere is good. I really enjoy playing on stage. I don’t really feel super nervous anymore, maybe at the first game a little bit, but I was playing Yuumi, so it was kind of whatever. And other than that, I’m in my zone. I’m confident from scrims, so I feel like I can do well if I have the right tools. And I’m enjoying myself. I think the team has also been enjoying themselves, even though, obviously, it’s stressful being in this position. But we just have to deal with it.
The roster after the game (Image Credits: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games) BLIX: And how’s the team atmosphere in KOI, both in-game and out of the game?
Advienne: Yeah, it’s good. I’d say it’s good.
BLIX: One final question before I let you go. Do you have any messages to fans who will be very excited to see your match tomorrow?
Advienne: Well, I just want to thank everyone that’s rooting for us, and it really makes it a lot more hype if we have fans behind us and rooting for us. And I hope we can make you guys at least a little bit happy tomorrow.
